Active and Passive Voice

An action of a subject, in relation to an object, is expressed in two ways. These two ways

of expressing action of a subject are known as Voices.

1. Active Voice

2. Passive Voice

Examples.

 I write a letter. (Active Voice)

 A letter is written by me. (Passive Voice)

The structure of same sentence changes when expressed as Active Voice or Passive

Voice. The meaning of a sentence, either expressed as Active Voice or Passive Voice,

remains the same.

Active Voice

In a sentence using active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action

expressed in the verb. Active voice is used for most non-scientific writing. By using active

voice for the majority of your sentences makes your meaning clear for readers, and keeps the

sentences from becoming too complicated or wordy. Even in scientific writing, too much use

of passive voice can cloud the meaning of your sentences. In most English sentences with an

action verb, the subject performs the action denoted by the verb.
Passive Voice

In a sentence using passive voice, the subject is acted upon; he or she receives the

action expressed by the verb. The agent performing the action may appear in a "by the..."

phrase or may be omitted.

Reasons to Generally Avoid Passive Voice

Sometimes the use of passive voice can create awkward sentences, as in the last

example above. Also, overuse of passive voice throughout an essay can cause your prose to

seem flat and uninteresting. In scientific writing, however, passive voice is more readily

accepted since using it allows one to write without using personal pronouns or the names of

particular researchers as the subjects of sentences (see the third example above). This practice

helps to create the appearance of an objective, fact-based discourse because writers can

present research and conclusions without attributing them to particular agents. Instead, the

writing appears to convey information that is not limited or biased by individual perspectives

or personal interests.

Recognizing Passive Voice

You can recognize passive-voice expressions because the verb phrase will always

include a form of be, such as am, is, was, were, are, or been. The presence of a be-verb,

however, does not necessarily mean that the sentence is in passive voice. Another way to

recognize passive-voice sentences is that they may include a "by the..." phrase after the verb;

the agent performing the action, if named, is the object of the preposition in this phrase.
Helpful Hint

You can recognize passive voice because the verb phrase will include a form

of be (was, am, are, been, is). Don't assume that just because there is a form of 'be' that the

sentence is passive, however. Sometimes a prepositional phrase like "by the" in the sentences

above indicates that the action is performed on the subject, and that the sentence is passive.

Difference between Active Voice and Passive Voice.

The meaning or main idea of sentence, either expressed as Active Voice or Passive

Voice does not change, The structure of a same sentence changes for Active Voice and

Passive Voice. We know that every sentence have a subject, a verb, and an object. Subject is

an agent who works on an object in a sentence. In the above example, “I” is the subject of the

sentence that is doing some work on the object ‘letter’ in the same sentence.

To understand the difference in both voices, we should focus on the subject and the

object of a sentence, In Active Voice, the subject acts upon the object. In Passive Voice, the

object is acted upon by the subject. The meaning remains the same in both Voices but the

sequence of the words (subject & object) changes. The sequence, of subject and object as in

Active Voice, is reversed when it is expressed in Passive Voice.

Active Voice: Subject + Verb + Object

Passive Voice: Object + Verb + Subject
Examples of Active and Passive Voice

These sentences illustrate how different the same sentence can sound when written in

active or passive voice. Generally, it's better to write in the active voice. It's clearer and more

direct. Passive voice sentences tend to be more wordy and vague but can still be useful in

some situations, such as formal or scientific writing. Here are examples of sentences written

in both the active voice and the passive voice, with the active voice sentence appearing first:

 Harry ate six shrimp at dinner. (active)

At dinner, six shrimp were eaten by Harry. (passive)

 Beautiful giraffes roam the savannah. (active)

The savannah is roamed by beautiful giraffes. (passive)

 Sue changed the flat tire. (active)

The flat tire was changed by Sue. (passive)

 We are going to watch a movie tonight. (active)

A movie is going to be watched by us tonight. (passive)

 I ran the obstacle course in record time. (active)

The obstacle course was run by me in record time. (passive)

 The crew paved the entire stretch of highway. (active)

The entire stretch of highway was paved by the crew. (passive)

 Mom read the novel in one day. (active)

The novel was read by Mom in one day. (passive)

 The critic wrote a scathing review. (active)

A scathing review was written by the critic. (passive)

 I will clean the house every Saturday. (active)

The house will be cleaned by me every Saturday. (passive)

 The staff is required to watch a safety video every year. (active)

A safety video will be watched by the staff every year. (passive)
 She faxed her application for a new job. (active)
The application for a new job was faxed by her. (passive)

 Tom painted the entire house. (active)

The entire house was painted by Tom. (passive)

 The teacher always answers the students’ questions. (active)

The students’ questions are always answered by the teacher. (passive)

 The choir really enjoys that piece. (active)

That piece is really enjoyed by the choir. (passive)

 Who taught you to ski? (active)

By whom were you taught to ski? (passive)

 The forest fire destroyed the whole suburb. (active)

The whole suburb was destroyed by the forest fire. (passive)

 The two kings are signing the treaty. (active)

The treaty is being signed by the two kings. (passive)

 The cleaning crew vacuums and dusts the office every night. (active)
Every night the office is vacuumed and dusted by the cleaning crew. (passive)

 Larry generously donated money to the homeless shelter. (active)

Money was generously donated to the homeless shelter by Larry. (passive)

 No one responded to my sales ad. (active)

My sales ad was not responded to by anyone. (passive)

 The wedding planner is making all the reservations. (active)

All the reservations will be made by the wedding planner. (passive)

 Susan will bake two dozen cupcakes for the bake sale. (active)
For the bake sale, two dozen cookies will be baked by Susan. (passive)

 The science class viewed the comet. (active)

The comet was viewed by the science class. (passive)

 Who ate the last cookie? (active)

The last cookie was eaten by whom? (passive)
 Alex posted the video on Facebook. (active)
The video was posted on Facebook by Alex. (passive)

 The director will give you instructions. (active)

Instructions will be given to you by the director. (passive)

 Thousands of tourists view the Grand Canyon every year. (active)

The Grand Canyon is viewed by thousands of tourists every year. (passive)

 The homeowners remodeled the house to help it sell. (active)

The house was remodeled by the homeowners to help it sell. (passive)

 The team will celebrate their victory tomorrow. (active)

The victory will be celebrated by the team tomorrow. (passive)

 The saltwater eventually corroded the metal beams. (active)

The metal beams were eventually corroded by the saltwater. (passive)

 The kangaroo carried her baby in her pouch. (active)

The baby was carried by the kangaroo in her pouch. (passive)

 Some people raise sugar cane in Hawaii. (active)

Sugar cane is raised by some people in Hawaii. (passive)